I wanted to make sure I implanted those things here too." Music and lyricsĭescribed by Badu as "TRap & B", she attempted to create "a sound that brings peace and tranquility to its listener." A press release for the mixtape described it has having "weaves" of Badu's soulful vocals with psychedelic soundscapes, hip hop-inflected beats, smooth R&B, jazz, and art rock. I used tuning forks and singing bowls in the music in post production, just trying to create some frequencies that felt really good that I always use in all of my works. Speaking on the post-production process, Badu stated, "It was fun, easy. During post-production, Badu and Witness focused on creating "sympathetic vibrations" between the music's frequency and vibration, utilizing a tuning fork and Tibetan singing bowls to find the precise wavelengths. The recording sessions were also visited by featured artists André 3000 and Aubrey Davis, where they coined the genre of the mixtape "TRap & B". The pair worked in his room for 11 days where they recorded the whole project for two of the days Witness produced, reproduced, mixed, and mastered the project, while Badu recorded her vocals in one take for each song. The following week, the pair met again and went to Witness's home in Dallas, Texas, working in his bedroom studio. In the same week, Witness visited one of Badu's events where the pair exchanged numbers. Shortly thereafter, Badu decided to do a remix of Drake's 2015 single "Hotline Bling" and thought about possibly working with Witness. He did a remix of Badu's single "Bag Lady" and sent the remix through social media to Badu. Zach Witness, also known as White Chocolate, was the mixtape's key producer. The mixtape developed from a rewrite of rapper Drake's single "Hotline Bling", which Badu posted on SoundCloud. Later that year Badu expanded on the album, stating she was working with producer Flying Lotus, whom she met via Myspace years earlier they later met in Los Angeles at guitarist Steve Wilson's house. She continued to reveal that prior to her trip to Africa she has meetings with her record label to set a deadline for the album. In July 2014, Badu revealed she was still working on the album and had been recording in April in Africa, where she was "laying down drum tracks". In May 2013, Badu announced she was writing for her next project, but she was not placing a time constraint on it.
However, Badu embarked on a five-year hiatus instead. After releasing New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) (2008) and New Amerykah Part Two (Return of the Ankh) (2010), Badu was expected to release the third album in the series.